


Spitfire

by Atalto



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Brief description of injury, Electrocution, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Langst, M/M, Mission Gone Wrong, Red is protective of her cubs, Romance, Scarring, Unconciousness, magical torture, oh boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 00:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14779964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atalto/pseuds/Atalto
Summary: This mission wasn’t supposed to go wrong.In fact, it was woefully easy.But when Lance gets trapped in a liberated factory, untouchable metal barricading him from the team, Kolivan realises they’re dealing with something a lot larger than a freak event.





	Spitfire

**Author's Note:**

> Yoooo
> 
> So, more Kolivance y’all?  
> This was inspired by a lil comment on my previous Kolivance fic, that I loved so much that I had to write it!!!  
> (Also yeah I’m torturing Lance again, sorry :’D I’ll stop soon, promise)
> 
> Warnings for general violent attacks; Lance gets magically electrocuted, and gets a bit hurt because of it. I didn’t think it was enough to warrant a ‘graphic violence’ tag, but stay safe y’all.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was supposed to be an easy mission.

Get in, grab the intel, let Voltron destroy the drone factory, get out; in theory, it would have taken a Varga, if that. Everything should have gone to plan, they had no reason to expect any different. Intel was checking out, the inside agents gave them the go-ahead, the lions were primed and ready.

"I'm looking forward to it," Lance had said in the hangars before, tugging Kolivan's hood over his head and pulling him down for a kiss as the mask activated across his face, "it's been ages since we've gotten to a big heroic bust, y'know?"

Kolivan hummed in amusement, running one thumb over Lance's soft cheek before he slipped the familiar blue helmet on his head. "Just be careful," he responded, slipping his hand under Lance's chin, "I have no doubt you will, but just incase."

Cheekily, Lance moved his head, just enough to kiss Kolivan's thumb. "I should be saying that to you," he said with a shrug and small laugh, "you're the one on the ground, after all."

He thought he had been careful, thought Lance was safe.

The factory itself fell fairly quickly; Kolivan's Blade members got in to destroy the internal machines and to copy any data on the computer system, leaving voltron to clean up afterwards, destroying the resource holds and picking up any refugees that were held as workers. There had also been limited Galra damage - no fleet had appeared out of hyperspace, no alarms had contacted high command - so really, it went well.

Too well.

After Andrex had given the all clear, Voltron landed in plains of the square outside the factory; Lance had stepped out and practically leaped into Kolivan's arms, chucking the helmet into a preoccupied Pidge's hands and kissing his lips excitedly.

"That was awesome," he said breathlessly, grin getting even wider as he wrapped his arms around Kolivan's wide, armoured shoulders, "did you see me do the barrel roll through the laser fire?"

Kolivan quirked his lips in reply, securing strong arms around Lance's legs. "I may have caught it," he replied, and Lance huffed, rolling his eyes jokingly, "I have no doubt of your skill though, Starlight, so I'll take your words as the truth."

With a bashful laugh, Lance pressed one final kiss to his forehead, before jumping down back onto the dusty ground gracefully. "So, what do we do now?"

"The Blade is about to perform a final internal check," Kolivan mused, turning towards the twisted remains of the factory, "we've received reports that there's a basement to the building, and we need to check it for weapons or survivors - I believe your princess has cleared Voltron to help out."

Lance nodded in acceptance, drawing his bayard and slinging the rifle over his back smoothly. "I'm sticking with you, you understand," he said, turning to Kolivan with a grin before looking towards the same entrance, "someone has to protect my boyfriend from the evil Galra basement monsters."

"I require no protection, Lance-"

"Koli?"

"Yes, starlight?"

Lance glanced up at him, face flat. "Just let me have this."

It started so well.

They entered the factory soon after, Lance having shouted his intentions to Shiro through the helmet he retrieved from Pidge, before running after Kolivan with a grin and a wave of his hand.

"Sorry," he panted, holding himself up by leaning into Kolivan's arm, "just had to tell Shiro so he doesn't think I've run off or something."

"Understandable," Kolivan said with a sage nod, holding out his arm for Lance to balance himself on.

The factory was certainly unnerving; at least, that was one term for it. The power had been taken out in the attack, leaving them in an inky black, only illuminated by Lance's armour lights and a handheld torch that Kolivan kept in a side pack. None of this was helped by the general destruction of the building, twisted metal and wrecked machinery forming looming monsters in the dim light.  
Lance noticed this too, jumping every time they turned a corner.

He was trying not to show it, but Lance was extremely on edge.

"The basement is this way," Kolivan said after spotting a staircase on the long corridor they'd been walking down, "I'm not picking up any life signs, I feel this should be easier than we previously thought."

Next to him, Lance cheered and visibly relaxed, marching ahead with a whoop and the joyous bravado that has morphed from annoying to endearing in so little time.  
Lance had so much energy, he thought, feeling a smile grace across his face as his mate danced in his own dim light, singing under his breath to some inaudible pop song from Earth. This was usually the time when Pidge would shout at him to stop messing around, or Hunk would sarcastically ask what song was currently playing in his head; instead, Kolivan just stood, rare smile on his lips, watching this beautiful human dance in a wrecked Empire factory.

"Are you coming?" Lance called, spinning elegantly and calling Kolivan over with an exaggeratedly flirtatious curl of his finger, "if the basement's empty, why not make it our own? We have plenty of time-"

That was when the corridor shook angrily.  
Lance's eyes widened, planting his other foot on the floor to stare at Kolivan questioningly. "Aftershocks?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly, shaking himself back to reality and making his way towards Lance, "I fear it's not-"

That was when a giant slab of metal fell between them, slamming down with a cloud of dust.  
It skimmed Kolivan by an inch, and the last thing he was aware of before greyed, singed metal was Lance, screaming his name.

The shock shot through his system quickly, and before his own consciousness could catch up his sword was unsheathed and claws bared. This metal couldn't be thick enough that luxite couldn't cut it, and yet-

His blade was slipping off the metal, and his claws were chipped.

"Lance?" He called, screamed, slamming a fist against the metal wall, "Lance, speak to me, I need to know-"

There was a moment of silence, thick and anxious and tense.

"I'm okay," finally came the shaky reply, muffed and choked, "what about you?"

Kolivan huffed, slamming a fist against the metal again. "I'm fine," he replied gruffly, "I'm worried about you, I fear you may be stuck there for some time."

"It's fine!" Lance called, and the fake cheerfulness was scarily evident, "I've got my comms on-"  
He stopped suddenly, and Kolivan heard a hum of confusion.  
"Scratch that, I think I'm out of range or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not getting anything," Lance cried, anxiety beginning to bleed into his voice, "just static."

That- That couldn't be good.

Taking a deep breath, Kolivan stepped away, pulling away to hold the communicator to his mouth. "Andrex, Morgid, do you copy?"

There was buzz as Andrex answered the line. _"Loud and clear boss,"_ came the fuzzy reply, _"although we're facing issues."_

 _"Repeated here,"_ Morgid added, _"a large metal wall has descended in front of me and the Yellow Paladin - any further progress has been prohibited."_

Andrex hummed, and the ice in Kolivan's chest started to spread through lungs and arteries. _"Same here. The black Paladin has attempted to break through the barrier, but no damage has been received. I fear this may require a stronger force."_

 _"How is the Blue Paladin?"_ Morgid asked with a snort, and Kolivan could hear Hunk laugh behind him.

Well, how was Lance?

"Lan- The Blue Paladin is currently stuck on the other side of the barrier," he responded, slamming a fist against the metal again.

 _"So he tripped a trap,"_ Andrex replied with a growling laugh, _"well done Boss, your mate's an idiot."_

There was a flicker of light from the other side of the barrier, blue and harsh poking through the cracks in the ripped metal.

"Lance?"

He slammed a hand on the metal again, headbutting a space right in front him.

"Lance, can you hear me?"

"I-I'm here," came the reply, but he sounded worse; there was a fear in his voice that wasn't there before, all the bravado of before gone and forgotten, "there's- there's someone here, but it's dark, I can't see them - are you sure you didn't miss a heat scan?"

Someone with Lance? Galra, Paladin, alien?

"Who is it, Lance?" He asked, face pressed against the metal, "Starlight, keep talking."

"I- I don't know," Lance said, and there was a slam that indicated him backing against the metal, along with the familiar hiss of a summoned bayard, "they- they have a mask on? Tall, robed, horse-like?"

He pulled his wrist up, checking the heat scans of the building.  
There was still nothing to be found, except Lance behind the barrier.

"Lance," he called again, trying to keep his voice even in some act of fake confidence, "I need you to keep talking to me-"

A scream echoed through the corridor, pained and blood-curdlingly loud. Blue flashed through the cracks in the metal near the ceiling again, brighter and angrier.

 _Lance_.

Beneath his feet, the shaking started again, but stronger this time, and he heard the ghost of Lance's whimper on the other side of the barrier.

 _"Boss,"_ Morgid suddenly buzzed through his communicator, _"we have seismic activity, we need to evacuate the building, now."_

"Do we have progress on breaking down the barrier?" He barked as the lack of Lance's reply seemed to thrum through the corridor.

Lance wasn't replying at all now.

 _"The black paladin has managed to melt through the barrier,"_ Andrex informed, usually laid-back voice laced with seriousness, _"thickness seems to vary, but the thinnest we've found is still several inches thick. He's on his way to your location now, to retrieve the red paladin."_

"Affirmative," Kolivan muttered, clicking off the communicator before slamming his fist into the metal once again, "Lance, I need you to reply.

Silence

"Hit the metal if you can hear me, Starlight."

Nothing.

He drew his blade again, slashing at the metal in vain as the tremors started beneath his feet once again.

There were footsteps behind him, practically silent on the dirt of the floor.

"Kolivan," he heard, and turned quickly to see Shiro, face contorted with focus, "let me try."

He had little choice in the matter really, and stood back to allow Shiro to activate the Druid arm and place it flat on the metal.

"Once I've formed a hole, your blade should be able to cut through," Shiro instructed with a grunt, and Kolivan nodded in understanding, "it seems fortified to blades somehow, like magically protected from the outside."

"You think the Druids are at work, here?"

Shiro grimaced. "Maybe. But either way, this was planned."

* * *

 

It took a further ten dobashes for Shiro and Kolivan to cut a gap in the metal, and even then, it was too small for both of them to completely fit through. Kolivan went through first, sword drawn.

It was almost completely dark on the other side, their only source of light being what dregs of electric light made it through the opening, aided by Shiro's arm.  
However, it was enough to display the damage that had occurred; the piping on the walls were burst and charred, and irregular marks were scorched into the floor. A spot in the centre of the barrier was completely clear, only scuff marks on the floor indicating that anything had been there.

Druid magic, no doubt.

 _"How's it looking, boss?"_ Andrex crackled through the communicator, _"you might want to hurry up, we have exactly five and a half dobashes until total structural collapse."_

"We've found evidence of Druid involvement," he replied gravely, "no sign yet of the red paladin."

Unless-

There was a shape at the far end of the barrier, blob-like and surrounded by darkness.

"Lance?"

A grunt and a flicker of blue from broken armour replied.

"Black paladin, I've found him," he shouted, immediately running towards the figure as the purple light followed behind him, "Lance, can you hear me?"

Tremors shook the building again as Lance groaned weakly; there was something on his face, on his armour, tainting the familiar white-

Blood.

Shiro appeared at his side, breathing heavily. "We need to get him out of here, now."

* * *

 

In the fading light of the factory moon, Lance was looking more and more like a corpse every tick.

He was pale, too pale, blood from a serious-looking head wound spilling out over the cracks in his helmet and down his face. A lightning-like pattern of cracked and bleeding burns danced up his neck and over his left cheek, and his breathing was weak against Kolivan's neck where his head had lolled.  
Even with one arm over Shiro's shoulders, and the other over Kolivan's, Lance's feet were still dragging on the floor.

"Boss," Andrex called as they neared the lions, falling into a run to keep up with them, "Kenzan and the green paladin have gone through the retrieved files - we have evidence to prove this entire thing was premeditated."

"Like, the druids knew we were coming," Hunk panted from behind them, "we really, really shouldn't have gone in there."

Red had moved, now waiting for them anxiously at the mouth of the factory. "Get Lance into the Black Lion," Kolivan instructed, "the Red Lion can follow without a pilot, correct?"

Shiro nodded solemnly, helping Lance onto the ramp into Black whilst Red roared in anguish behind them.

"The beast must feel his pain," he mused as the cries got quieter, and Shiro led them to some seats at the back of the cockpit.

"Most likely," Shiro replied with a wry smile, settling himself into the pilot's chair as Black shifted around them, "I'll make this as smooth as I can - Hunk's leading Red, he has this under control."

Kolivan sighed, laying Lance out across a few seats carefully. He looked even worse now, skin clammy from sweat and blood, and his shallow breaths seemed to shake and rattle his entire chest.  
"Lance," he whispered, kneeling down so their faces were on the same level as he peeled the larger pieces of cracked helmet away from his hair, "wake up for me - Starlight, I need you to say something."

There was a period of silence, thick and harsh, before finally, mercifully, Lance hummed.

With a huff of relief, Kolivan ran his hands through matted, bloodied hair. "And again," he breathed, aware of a weak trembling arm moving up to grasp at his wrist, "can you do that again?"

Another hum, quicker and louder this time, as one glassy, bloodshot eye opened slowly. "K'liv'n?"

"That's right," he confirmed with a nod, letting one hand tangle with Lance's shaking fingers, "you're safe now, we're taking you back to the castle."

Lance just groaned, breath snatching in his throat audibly. "Th'- th'- mag'c-"

Magic?

_"They have a mask on? Tall, robed, horse-like?"_

He should have seen this coming.

It had been theorised that Druids had the power to alter their physical form, evading capture by slipping between lights and blending with heat signatures. They were also known for their mastery of lightning-like energy, a favourite method of theirs for torture, and eventually, death.

"How is he?" Shiro suddenly asked from the pilot's chair, voice filled with concern.

"Lucid," Kolivan replied shortly, "but confused, I'm yet to confirm if it's from the attack or from blood loss."

In front of him, Lance hummed weakly again, fingers shifting in Kolivan's hold.

"Fear not, Starlight," Kolivan said in the hushed whisper, "we're nearly at the castle, all will be well."

Lance smiled weakly, eyes fluttering shut once again.

Now he just had to hope he was right.

* * *

 

Thankfully, Lance didn't spend too long outside of the pod once they got back to the Castle.

Coran and Keith were there, waiting with first aid to prevent him from worsening in transit, Hunk landing merely seconds after once Red was safely back in it's hangar.  
Pidge and Allura were in the infirmary when they entered with Lance balanced and lifted between them, and Lance was in the Pod before Andrex and Morgid had even entered the Castle.

Sure, the Alteans were stubborn, prejudiced and proud, but he couldn't fault their efficiency.

"He shouldn't be in there for long," Coran informed the small group, pulling up a screen of information from the pod, "It's mostly blood gain and superficial damage - thankfully, whatever he was hit by had a small enough voltage not to affect his nervous system."

"We have reason to believe it wasn't electricity that hit him, at least not that we're familiar with," Kolivan interrupted, noting Shiro's wince away as the rest of the paladins turned to him, "our data, along with the specifications of the injury, suggest a quintessence-based attack, one designed to harm, not kill."

The atmosphere changed there and then, from relief to a dark horror as understanding set in.

"You're suggesting Druid involvement," the Princess finally said, voice quiet but steadfast, "you believe that this was premeditated?"

Kolivan nodded once as Pidge scrambled to open a datafile on the other side of the small circle. "Indeed, we believe that this entire attack was planned, Lance was just unfortunate enough to be the victim out of many possibilities."

"Think about it," Pidge carried on, now staring down a hologram from her armour, "we got the information from an anonymous source, the factory fell like they were expecting us there, the trap that Lance got caught behind could've been tripped by anyone." She sighed, closing the screen angrily with a swipe of her hand. "This was such an obvious trap, and we just walked into it! Literally!"

"But why?" Keith asked, folding his arms across his middle, "this Druid had the chance to kill him, why didn't they?"

Silence fell upon them once again. To be fair, even Kolivan couldn't suggest a reason. No explanation he could think of was logical, and the druids were some of the most logical beings around.

"A warning," Shiro finally said, eyes fixed on the ground, "back in the arena, they were used to threaten fighters who Zarkon didn't think were putting their all into matches - they were hurt, severely, but never to the point of death, almost a demonstration of what would happen if they didn't try harder."

The prosthetic right hand glinted ominously through the burned material of his suit glove.

"So, you're saying this was a threat to us?" Allura asked, formerly confident face falling, "a threat as to what would happen to us if we didn't give up the fight?"

"Most likely."

* * *

 

It was a few Vargas into the night cycle before Lance's pod finally bleeped angrily, and Kolivan moved in front of the pod as it opened with a hiss.

"K'livan?" Lance slurred after he gracelessly fell into his open arms, bleary eyes squinting in the sudden light.

"It's me," Kolivan replied with a nod, scooping Lance off of his feet, one arm secured under his knees, "how do you feel?"

Lance grinned weakly, eyes crinkling with fatigue. "Like I've been eaten by a Rhino and shat back out again."

He would need to ask what a Rhino was later on.

"Would you like to go to bed?"

Lance nodded and hummed in appreciation, grin faltering just slightly.  
In this light, Kolivan could see the remaining silvery scars along his cheek, electric and zig-zagged across skin and muscle.

Obviously, the pods weren't as infallible as he once assumed.

"Give it to me straight, doc," Lance mumbled as Kolivan began to start the journey to Lance's room, "how bad is the damage?"

"Coran said you've made a full recovery," Kolivan replied, noting Lance's growing smile, "but I fear the scars may last a little longer yet."

Lance's face fell immediately, one hand clumsily reaching up to brush down the discoloured skin. "Oh well," he sighed, although it sounded forced and short, "cool scars get all the ladies, right?"

Kolivan just hummed as Lance fell quiet, burying his face in his shoulder when the door to the room opened with a hiss.

"Here," Kolivan said quietly as he laid Lance on the bed, "can I help?"

"You could get my shirt from the bathroom," Lance replied as his hands moved to start stripping off the unwieldy medical suit, "and a clean pair of boxers."

That second bit was quieter, almost ashamed that he had experienced a perfectly normal reaction to fear.

"Of course," he said dutifully, moving into the bathroom to retrieve Lance's pyjamas from where he had dumped them that morning. The underwear was kept in the bottom drawer of the closet in the wall, a familiar routine that he knew well.

When he reentered the room, Lance was stood with his back to the bathroom door, hands subconsciously running over the scarring that traveled further down his back than Kolivan previously thought. Instead of ending at his collarbone, it shot down his back, over his shoulder blades, until it finally ended at the small of his back, silvery and jagged, just like the electricity that caused it.

"Lance," he said quietly, as not to shock the man in front of him further, "I have your sleepwear."

With a turn, Lance fixed a grin on his face, fake and mask-like. "Thanks babe," he replied, too loudly to be true, "I'll just-"

He stopped, taking a heavy breath, before pulling his shirt over his head, and stepping into the boxers. "Are you okay?"

Well, was he?

"I nearly lost you," Kolivan finally said, pulling Lance over to the bed with a gentle grip around his wrist, "I nearly lost you, and it would've been my fault."

"Babe, no," Lance interrupted, laying back on the bed as he let Kolivan pull him close, "I tripped the trap, it could've been anyone."

Kolivan hummed ambiguously, responding by tightly wrapping his arms around Lance's middle; he indulgently let his fingers trail under Lance's shirt, just enough to feel the gentle ridges of the scarring under his fingertips.

"It was a trap," he said quietly, feeling Lance stiffen in his arms, "a trap, designed to send us a warning in the worst way possible - your pain."

"But why?" Lance asked, in a small, confused voice, "why didn't you leave me? If it was a blade, you would've-"

"But you're not a blade," Kolivan said shortly, "you're a paladin, a pilot of Voltron, significantly more important. Had you have been left there another ten dobashes, you surely would have succumbed to your injuries."

Lance didn't reply to that, instead pressing his face into Kolivan's chest.

"I'm gonna' be a mess in the morning," Lance mused, voice muffled, and Kolivan laughed wryly.

"I know, we'll be prepared Starlight, take as much time to recover as you need."

"Really?"

"Indeed," Kolivan confirmed as the lights dimmed around them - not completely dark, just enough so that Lance didn't get completely scared, "now, we'll deal with that in the morning, sleep."

Thankfully, he did.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun ‘Pebble’s fics’ drinking game: take a shot every time I end a fic with X ship cuddling in bed.
> 
> Also Andrex and Morgid are my baby Blade girlfriends and you can pry them out of my cold dead hands.


End file.
